Software as a service (SaaS), also referred to as “on-demand software” is a software delivery model, in which software and associated data are centrally hosted on the cloud. SaaS is typically accessed by customers using a thin client via a web browser. SaaS has become a common delivery model for many enterprise applications and has been incorporated into the strategy of all leading enterprise software companies.
Globally acting SaaS providers run different data centers spread over several geographic locations. Data centers are usually product or enterprise application oriented and not customer location oriented. This means the same customer can be served by different data centers in case the customer is subscribed to different on-demand enterprise applications or even in case the customer is subscribed to an on-demand solution composed of different on-demand applications that run in different data centers.
An on-demand enterprise solution composed of different on-demand enterprise applications that are running in different data centers may have integration challenges related to the virtual geographic distance between the different data centers and the associated data latency. It would be advantageous to optimize integration between the involved on-demand applications, it would be advantageous to lower the total cost of development by enabling developers to deploy an application without having to be concerned about the physical location of the on-demand components of the application.